Ranma: The Weakening Agent
by Tower of Babel
Summary: Revenge is a dish best served with a cold heart. But After Ranma's curse is nullified by some strange happenstance, and he reverts to a kid...everything he has could be lost forever. In order to restore things, Ranma will have to make a difficult choice.
1. Part One

_**PART ONE:**_

Ranma didn't necessarily consider himself a vain person, or even narcissistic, but when he looked into a free standing mirror in the Tendon Dojo, he really liked what he saw. A buff, handsome guy.

He prided himself in his appearance, but now he was on a whole new level, not just outwardly, but spiritually. And only recently he began to practise a form of mediation that helped him control certain feelings he had been having when it came to Akane. He used deep breathing exercises and cleared his mind to calm those feelings.

Oddly enough, he didn't learn the technique from anyone he knew. He learned it from watching old martial arts movies. He thought there was nothing to it, but once he began to really get into it, he began to relax more and his martial arts surprisingly improved. He became stronger and faster, more focussed and more fluent. He even ditched the weights and concentrated on moving his muscles in such a way that toned them better using free flowing ways. The method was scientific and even Dr. Tofu agreed with it. With a combination of physical prowess and mental intuitiveness, he had the best of both worlds.

But there were just times he needed to work things out with exercise and weights, when he needed to burn off some tough stress. Like when Akane got angry with him. And sometimes she didn't need a reason.

Since meeting the Tendo's, he had grown up from the immature person that he once was. He wanted his curse to be lifted and to return fully male—turning into a female when he was splashed with cold water was becoming annoying. But a curse was a curse and only so-called anti-curse magic could counteract old Chinese mythos.

When he fell into a spring at Jusenkyo in China during what should have been a simple training journey with his father, his entire life changed. On top of that, becoming engaged to a woman he didn't even know and who seemingly hated his guts, was bothersome to say the least, not to mention all the other suitors he had acquired since then—like Shampoo and Ukyo—who continued to chase him around like he was some sort of prize to be won at the end of a contest.  
He was thankful right now he was alone. Sometimes, being alone was healthy for both the mind and the soul.

He stood in front of the mirror and flexed his arms and stuck out his chest, similar to a body builder. Kempo, his martial arts of choice, concentrated mainly on body conditioning and less on bulk, so he was toned with notable muscle. And for a seventeen-year-old, he was in prime form. And if it was to be believed, he was also in his sexual prime.

He smiled broadly at that thought.

He darted his eyes from side to side within the dojo. He was alone and he wasn't expecting anyone. He was shirtless, but he wanted to check something out. So, he slipped down his pants and checked out his butt. His gluts were tight like the rest of him. He had honed every part of his body to excellent condition and if he could bend over like a gymnast, he would kiss his own rear.

"Yeah, that's the ticket! No wonder so many girls love me."

"Playing with yourself again, Ranma?" came a voice from the back of the dojo near the doorway.

Ranma quickly turned and pulled up his pants. Ryoga Hibiki was standing at the threshold, smirking. He carried with him his travel pack and bamboo umbrella. He was decked out in his usual yellow, flashy attire. And to top the ensemble, he wore his black splotched, yellow bandanna.

"Ha! You know the old saying, you are what you eat," his rival then said. "Then again, you're also what you show others, and that confirms it—you're such an ass."

Ranma grumbled in his breath. Ryoga had not been there a moment ago. He was embarrassed that his rival found him in such a compromising position, but instead he put on a strong façade.

"Long time no see, bacon bits," Ranma responded. "And for your interest, I was checking out the efforts of all my hard work over recent weeks since you've been gone. So, where have you been, _Lost Boy_?"

"What do you mean 'Lost Boy'? I may have a lousy sense of direction, but I always find my way back here—like a beacon from Heaven. The gods always guide me back to Akane, knowing we are destined to be together. And besides, I was training, honing my skills—to defeat you! I've been training hard. My body is strong as a rock."

"Yeah? Well, you've always had pebbles for brains." Ranma cupped his hips. " Dream on, little piggy. In every official challenge, you've never beaten me. And sneak attacks don't count, neither do team-ups. Besides, Akane is already engaged to _me_."

"That will change someday. I came here to see Akane, not get into a squabble with a stupid moron like you."

Ranma grit his teeth and growled under his breath. There was just something about his rivalry with Ryoga that riled him up every time. "Let's fight, Ryoga! I swear! I'll beat the crap out of you!"

"You're always so eager to fight, Ranma. I wonder why? Are you compensating for something? You may look big up there…" Ryoga pointed, and Ranma looked at his chest. "But maybe you're not so big down _there_ and Akane knows it?"

"I'm as healthy as the next guy, even healthier? That's why all the girls love me. And I'm not shy to say it. I'm a man and the bigger the better, they say. Why are you acting so calm? You're always the one to jump off the rails with a challenge? Why the cool attitude now?"

"I know something you don't. That love conquers all." Ryoga reached into the left pocket of his pants and pulled out a small vial with a blue liquid. "And with this, I'm going to make Akane my obedient love slave. She'll do everything I tell her, and more."

"What's that?"

"The future, Ranma," Ryoga said, smiling devilishly. "And something that will make all my dreams come true. I've finally realized to get what I want I'm going to have to get more aggressive. I know I can get obsessive, but that's the past. I no longer have to fight for what I want, now I can just take it. I'm shy, but there are things that help a person overcome certain inadequacies, and this is it. The latest in romantic aids."

"Again, what's that? Don't tell me it's some sort of love potion? You've already tried something like that and it failed big time! And if you plan on using that on Akane, then you'll do so over my dead body!"

Ranma charged him, and Ryoga reacted—quickly getting into a defensive position.

Ranma suddenly pivoted and delivered a high-end kick, knocking the vial out of Ryoga's hand. It went flying and Ranma jumped and snatched it out of the air. He grinned innately with the prize in hand.

"You ain't goin' use this on anyone!" Ranma looked at it. "Doesn't look like much."

"Hey, that's mine! Give it back!"

Ranma popped off the top with the flick of a thumb and was about to pour it out, when Ryoga said, "No wait, Ranma! It's a cure to the Jusenkyo Curse. I was just kidding around with you! I came to share it! Don't spill it."

"Oh, c'mon! You really think I'd believe you?"

"Honest! Where do you think I've been for the past couple of weeks? I went back to China and spoke with that guide at Jusenkyo. He told me you if I drink this, i's a cure to the curse. I wanted to share it with you. It's very potent and comes from _The Spring of The Drowned Man_ with additives and special sugar extracts to help it circulate through the body faster. We may be rivals, Ranma. But we both are eager to get rid of this curse. I'm not lying this time!"

Ranam's face lit up, but a little weary. Then said, "Knowing you, you would never lie about sumthing' like that! Right?" Ryoga shook his head. Ranma looked at the blue liquid. "But why is the water blue?"

"Something to do with the special additives and sugar used. It changes the colour."

"So, where's yours?"

"I've already drank it. That one is yours." Ryoga pulled another empty vial from his pocket. "See? I got two. All you have to do is ingest it, not swim in the waters as we thought. I was told this by the guide. Ingestion is faster than skin absorption."

"Sounds legit," Ranma muttered. He gauged Ryoga's demeanour. The guy was smiling. _He wouldn't lie about this?_

Ranma gulped the blue liquid it down. Anything to beat the curse he suffered from was worth a shot!

Ryoga then produced a sinister grin. "You are so gullible, Ranma," he said with a laugh. "That was no cure, you just drank a weakening agent. You did exactly what I knew you would do! My acting was flawless! I've been practising for days now. I know he may be a little weird and his potions don't exactly do what he claims all the time, but this time I'm confident Hikaru Gosunkugi got this one right."

"Damn you! I believed you! You son-of-a…" Ranma heard an unsettling gurgling in the stomach, then put a hand to his belly, letting out a large belch. Uncharacteristically, he dropped to his knees and folded over in front of Ryoga almost instantly. "Oh—my stomach," he moaned. "It feels like I've just eaten some of Akane's cookin'."

Ryoga looked on concerned. "Ranma? You okay? I was told it would only make you weaker, not give you a stomach ache."

"You goddamn idiot, what did you give me? Ohh…You really trusted that creepy guy to give you something to make me weaker? Well, congratulations! It looks like you finally succeeded. I can barely move. And I feel like I need to…" Ranma suddenly cupped his butt. "Oh god, no!"

_To be continued..._


	2. Part Two

_**PART TWO:**_

Ryoga looked on with grave concern after Ranma had dropped to the floor of the dojo and clutched his stomach in pain. His rival then reached around and grabbed his rear suddenly pleading for something not to happen.

Almost immediately, Ryoga could smell the putridness, and saw the red-face embarrassment Ranma had on his face as it progressed. Ryoga covered his mouth and nose.

The potion had worked, but not the way Ryoga had thought. The effects were beyond abhorrent. Indeed, it had weakened Ranma. But he had never before seen his rival collapse so quickly to his knees. This was embarrassing for the both of them.

Unfortunately, he had caused Ranma to the soil himself. Whatever was in the potion that Hikaru Gosunkugi had given him, Ranma reacted to it like it was a laxative. Ryoga could see the stains and the moisture that was soiling Ranma's pants.

"I'm gonna to kill you for this, Ryoga! I swear!" An unpleasant bubbling sound followed with more soiling. "And when I get through with you you'll never be able to sit again. I'll shove that umbrella right up your—_Ohhh…_"

Another reaction, and the smell got worse. But there was nothing that could be done about it until it had run its course.

"Oh my god!" Ranma looked at him with daggers in his eyes, then folded over again with deliberating cramps. "You're such a deadman!" Ranma said vehemently. "They are going to find your body in the canal somewhere, beaten to a bloody pulp. You hear me! What a cowardly thing to do! And you call yourself a martial artist?"

"I didn't know it would be so potent and cause that," Ryoga replied apologetically. "This was not part of my plan—_honest!_"

"I'll never believe you again!" Ranma groaned in pain.

"I'll go get someone to help from the house, Kusumi, Akane—_anyone!_"

"No!" Ranma retorted strongly. "Don't get anyone! I don't want them to see me like this and I doubt you'll want them to know that you were the one who did this to me? Just go get me some towels and a new change of clothes of me, then we'll settle this like men when the cramps are over! Don't make it obvious. Oh man, I'm gonna really hurt you for this, Ryoga! When this stops, you better run and keep running!"

Ryoga ruffled through his pack, tossing things everywhere. He took out a set of clothes, a green sleeveless shirt and green pants. "I'm sorry, Ranma. You can wear these for now and I wash your clothes. And no one will know about this, I swear!"

x x x

The fear and trepidation in Ryoga's face was enough for Ranma to get pumped up to deliver a good old-fashioned beating to his rival for what he had done. And no amount of meditation was going to alleviate the anger he felt.

Ranma cleaned himself, and dressed in Ryoga's spare clothes, minus underwear, then rolled up his dirty clothes and tossed them at Ryoga, who caught them. "Get washing, idiot! And use lots of soap and disinfectant. And if you ever tell anyone about this, I'll rip that bandana off your head and shove it up where the sun doesn't shine. No one will ever find it!"

"I'm sorry, Ranma," Ryoga apologized profusely, bowing.

Ranma knew Ryoga was apologetic when he knew he did something wrong, but this was beyond disgraceful—especially to the honour of a martial artist. Ranma considered this like a prank that went horribly wrong—not a loss to his rival by any means. But it didn't make him any less mad. In fact he was furious and he wanted to kill Ryoga.

He took several breaths to try to call himself.

With every fight they had, there was a good reason. And if anyone caught them fighting, an explanation would be evident. But he wasn't prepared to reveal what happened this time to anyone. If any of his other rivals found out, especially Kuno, he would be the mockery of the entire town, even in school. And along with honour, reputation was everything to a martial artist.

Ryoga already had the stuff to clean his clothes, considering how much time he spent in the mountains and wilderness training. His rival had something really awful and he knew it. The guy looked defeated as he turned to prepare to wash Ranma's clothes.

"If I told Akane what you did, how do you think she would react? I bet she would _hate_ you forever."

Ryoga's turned, eyes tearing up. "Oh please—_no!_ Ranma, I beg you! Please don't tell her. I'll do anything you want."

Ranma smiled. "Anything?"

Ryoga nodded. "Anything! Let me pay this debt. I won't be able to leave here in peace without doing so. Just name it."

"Fine. Kiss my feet."

Ryoga looked at Ranma's bare feet. "You've got to be kidding me? I said I was sorry, but I won't humble myself before you like that. I won't bow down like some dog! Why would you even think I would even do such a thing?"

"You said you would do anything, so be my lap dog. You might as well get used to it, because I'm going to put you through hell. I'm going to hold this over for you for the rest of your life. And if you change into P-Chan in an attempt to hide behind Akane, the whole story comes out. You'll be forever ousted, and never be able to appear to her as a man." He was bluffing, of course. It would be too embarrassing if Akane ever found out what happened. "So, what will be?" Ranma raised his right foot, his knee up high to his chin; his balance perfect. "All you have to do is kiss my foot and all this will be forgiven." He smiled like a devil.  
Ryoga shook his head. "This is rotten, Ranma. I said I was sorry. I'm not going to kiss your foot. No way! I have my pride as a martial artist. And I will not suffer that kind of humiliation!"

"So what you did to me was okay? You're sad and pathetic!"

Ryoga grabbed his bamboo umbrella from his back pack and flung it open wide, then he pushed it forward like a shield and sword combo. Ranma took an involuntary step back. He knew when Ryoga used his umbrella, the edges were razor sharp. It could cut through anything even steel. Whatever it was made of, it gave Ranma pause. Plus it was heavy as hell. And yet, Ryoga was able to wield it like it was made of the lightest material.

Ryoga didn't look like it, but he was strong as an ox. And in comparison, just as dumb. When he got going, he was like a bowl in a china shop. Until he was done what he set out to do, literally nothing could stop him. The guy had a short fuse and it was easily triggered by the smallest thing, mostly when it came anything averse to Akane.

"Apologize Ranma!" Ryoga demanded, "or I'll cut you down. And you know I can. One throw from my umbrella, one flick of the wrist, and I can bring this entire dojo down to the ground. You won't survive my attack. I'll give _you_ one chance, say you're sorry to me now, and you'll live to see another day. You just crossed a line."

Ranma's eyes widened, he gave a quick look around the dojo. It wasn't the biggest place, but it belonged to the Tendo's, and if anything happened to it, he knew, most certainly, that he get blamed. Nine out of ten times, Ryoga instigated challenges and fights, but it was always Ranma that got the blame—the one who provoked him. The humiliation he suffered with the potion would be nothing to the fury Akane would set upon him if something terrible happened to the dojo. And between the two, Akane scared him more. No woman scared him more then her. When they say nothing is worse than a woman scorn, it is true with her.

It was now a matter to protect the dojo from Ryoga. He never thought it would come to that. Ryoga was his rival, but to become a dojo destroyer was beyond comprehension.

"You wouldn't dare!"

Ranma got into a defensive posture, his hands out front and his legs firmly situated in a solidifying fighting stance.

"I would!" Ryoga spat back. "Now hand them over! I was being charitable, but now I want them back."

Ranma was confused. "What do you _want_ back—_these_ clothes? You clean _mine_ and then I'll give _yours_ back to you. That was the deal. And Akane well never know what you did. You don't want me telling her, right?"

"You insulted my honour, that is unforgivable! And I don't care if you're engaged to her; one day she'll be mine. She deserves someone who is caring—someone who loves her, not a jerk like you! You're a coward when it comes to cats. When Akane and I get married, we're going to have lots of cats around, so you'll never see her again. _Scaredy Cat Saotome!_ That's going to be the rumour I'll spread around."

"You no good, son-of-a…" Ranma growled under his breath. "Fine, you want these clothes back? Okay!"

Ranma stripped and then threw the clothes back at Ryoga. He then stood completely naked in the dojo, uninhibited.

"Okay, now what?" Being naked meant nothing to him at this point. He was a guy facing other guy. So what? "And plenty of people know that I don't like cats. My father put me through a horrific and rigorous training session, throwing me into a pit of cats. You don't think someone would get a little traumatic and develop a phobia after something like that? Bring it on, pork butt! Now that I have nothing to restrict me, I'm perfectly free to kick your—"

But just then, Kusumi walked across the dojo carrying a basket of laundry. She looked at Ranma and gasped, then dropped the basket. Ranma quickly covered himself, putting his hands over his dignity.

"Kusumi, it's not what it looks like—_honest!_" Ranma explained beseechly.

_To be continued..._


	3. Part Three

_**PART THREE:**_

When Kasumi sat them down in the dojo, she made them clear the air of what happened. After Ranma re-dressed in Ryoga's spare clothes again, he told her what had occurred—what Ryoga gave him.

Ranma didn't want her to know, but there was just something about Kasumi that he knew she could be trusted. She was like a Mother Hen. But she could also be quite scary if she didn't get her way. She didn't have a mean streak, but Kasumi could be quite manipulative when she wanted to. Ranma was forced to apologize to Ryoga, and vice versa.

Both were on their knees in a respectful pose when they spoke to her.

She promised not to reveal what had happened. Besides, it was an accident. And yet, Ryoga was chided for want he had tried to do—giving Ranma a 'weakening agent' with adverse effects so Ryoga could defeat him. Worse was lying to Ranma in saying it was a cure for his curse, so he would drink it. She also made Ranma promise, albeit reluctantly, not to hurt Hikaru Gosunkugi when he saw him at school for making the potion to give to Ryoga. If the subject came up at school, just to say it didn't work.

"I really wish you two would stop fighting," she said disappointed. "I know you two have your differences, but despite your trails, I know for a fact that you two are the best of friends. If the other was ever in trouble, then the other one would most assuredly rush to help them. Am I right?"

Neither responded, but Ranma did look at Ryoga confused. Throughout their battles and conflicts, in the end, they did come to the others' aid if the other was in trouble, especially if they were fighting a deadly enemy. To a martial artist, it was instinctive to help those in need. It was part and parcel of the martial artist code.

"You talk about honour and humility, but what about friendship?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, Kasumi," Ryoga began, "but I seriously can't stand Ranma. He's arrogant and obtuse, mean and vile, and he doesn't like to share anything when he gets his grubby hands on something."

Ranma snapped a nasty look at Ryoga. "What do you mean I don't share things? Are you still going on about me taking your bread when we were in middle school? You have a one-track mind, you know that? Don't you know the old saying forgive and forget? Move on, man! The past is the past! You remember that, but you can't find your way around the city?"

"Because of what you did to me way-back-when, that's why I followed you to—" Ryoga stopped short of revealing his own curse to Kasumi. Then: "You cause misfortunate to everyone around you, Ranma."

"I am not bad luck! And shut up, you fool! Do you want the whole world to find out?"

"There are no secrets in this house, Ranma," Kasumi said. "We know everything."

"Everything?" Ryoga asked nervously.

There were few people who didn't know about Ranma's curse, but there was quite a few people who _didn't_ know about Ryoga's curse, and how whenever he is splashed with cold water he turned into a little black piglet—Akane's pet pig known as _P-Chan._

"Ryoga, and be honest," Kasumi said. Ryoga looked at her anxiously. "Do you have a problem with Ranma's curse? That he changes into a girl when splashed with cold water? Does it make you uneasy that Ranma likes to express himself differently than others?"

Ryoga was taken aback by the question. It was half expected that she would question him about what his 'secret'. But it seemed to pass her by, at least for the moment. Kasumi was known to be a little dense. It wasn't the kind of question either boys were expecting.

"Hey Kasumi—it's a curse, not a life choice," Ranma rebuked. "I don't dress in women's clothes because I like to."

"No," Ryoga responded to her question, "that's not it at all. Ranma's curse is fine, it's his attitude I dislike!"

"Akane and Ranma are engaged to be married, you need to accept that, Ryoga," she added. "Are you jealous? I'm asking this, because I believe a straight answer is needed. I know you like my sister, Ryoga. And that's okay. Ranma has many suitors, although I'm not quite sure he's interested in any of them. They all seem very obsessive about him, as well. I know he wants to get rid of this curse first before he settles down, but that may never happen. Ranma needs to understand that."

"Boy, Kasumi, you don't pull your punches," Ranma said surprised. "And for the record, I have no interest in settling down anytime soon. And besides, I may want to sow some oats before I do. I'm still young and healthy."

Kasumi gave him a narrowed look.

Ranma looked away abashed. _Nothing worse then telling the older sister of the woman you're engaged to that you want to engage in activities with other women before you marry her sister. Watch your words, Ranma_, he chided himself.

"Um, I…" Ryoga stuttered.

Ranma knew Ryoga got nervous when he was asked a direct question about Akane. However, actions spoke louder than words and his actions spoke volumes. But when it came to expressing his love in words, Ryoga always got tongue tied.

"I'm sorry, Ryoga," Kasumi said. "But Akane is already promised to Ranma and he'll be the one to take over the Tendo Dojo as his inheritance. That's just the way it is."

"Oh c'mon, Kasumi, that's just mean," Ranma retorted sympathetically in Ryoga's favour.

Ryoga's eyes began to tear up. "I love your sister with all my heart," he finally said out loud. That admission shocked Ranma in mixed company, even though everyone already knew. Ryoga turned to him with an angry stare. "And this jerk doesn't deserve her! He doesn't realize how sweet and caring Akane is. Okay, she could use a few cooking lessons. So could I. But we would learn together. Ranma is a narcissist. I saw him looking at his own bare butt in the dojo when I arrived."

"Hey man, I'm trying to help you here!"

"Is that the real reason you hate Ranma?" she pressed. "Jealousy? Or could it be something else that happened in your past to cause you to have great animosity towards Ranma? Am I wrong?"

"Kasumi, why are you interrogating him?" Ranma asked defensively.

"I'm trying to get to the bottom of this rivalry of yours, Ranma," she retorted. "Because your fights are often disruptive and destructive to everyone around you."

"Ryoga is stubborn," Ranma said, surprisingly, defending his rival. "Once he sets his mind to something there's little anyone can do to change it. It's called dedication, and that is a strong quality." Ranma tilted his head slightly to the right, and smiled. "It's admirable, if you think about it. But it's not that I admire him in anyway, that is."

Kasumi shook her head. "I think there's something more between you two and we're not going to leave the dojo until we get this settled. Unless you two just want to beat each other to a pulp? But what will that prove? Did you ever hear the saying: '_Words can have a bigger impact than fists_'?"

Ranma knew Kasumi was more of a pacifist than anything else. "You can't force anyone to stay here against their will." He stood on his feet in defiance. "And I won't be staying. There's nothing to discuss. Ryoga is simply my rival, nothing more."

Kasumi smiled, but there was something about it that made Ranma nervous. "If Ryoga leaves, or if you take one step across the threshold of this dojo outside, Ryoga will never be welcome back here ever again. And I will tell everyone about what happened here." Ranma was shocked. "I've come to realize with you two that you need an incentive to finally settle this bitterness you both possess. I want you to talk things out. Call it an intervention. No fists, no fighting, no yelling—only talking. And be honest! I may not the whole story between you two, but talking it out is the only way to bring things to a reasonable conclusion."

She stood up and then picked up her basket of clothes.

"I'll be hanging the laundry and it will take me at least an hour," she said, "so if you try to leave the dojo, I'll see. You may think this is uncharacteristic for me, but sometimes you have to get a tough—like 'tough love' with children."

"'_Children_'?" Ranma voiced wide-eyed and bewildered.

She returned his response with a straight look and Ranma knew not to talk back.

"Now start making up. I'll be watching."

Then she left to handle the laundry.

_To be continued..._


	4. Part Four

_**PART FOUR:**_

When Kasumi left them alone, Ranma and Ryoga sat in the dojo slightly bewildered that they had been spoken to like children. Neither one knew what to think of Kasumi's newest approach to their constant rivalry. They sat quietly, thinking. It was like a shock to their system. Ranma had been told off before by Akane and Nabiki, but never blackmailed by Kasumi.

"Um, d'you want to fight, Ryoga?" he asked, giving a slight glance to Kasumi now hanging clothes up to dry on the line, out of earshot. She seemed to do so without a care in the world and hummed joyously to herself.

"Should we?" Ryoga wondered, looking over his shoulder to Kasumi. "I mean, we might make her mad?"

Ranma snapped his attention back. He snorted. "C'mon! Look at us? Afraid of a woman! Aren't we men?"

"A woman scorn, and all that," Ryoga replied. "And frankly, the look in Kasumi's eyes a moment ago when she blackmailed you and told me off, kinda—it was enough to scare the dickens out of me. Like she was possessed. All she needed were horns."

"Yeah, you said it," Ranma admitted. "And I thought Akane was the one with the authoritative issues?"

"I wonder why? Over the years, we've had our battles, but—"

"It's normally the second or last born that have issues, not the first conceived. Nabaki is—manipulative, and Akane is always, I dunno—frustrated? Kasumi has always been the calm one. But maybe deep down she really wants more…"

"Maybe she's just frustrated with all our fighting?"

"I think it may be something more. Dr. Tofu loves her and I don't think she's blind to that. Dr. Tofu is like you with Akane. Every time you see Akane, you act like an idiot. A fool in love."

"Hey! I am not a fool in…" Ryoga paused. She sighed. He couldn't deny it. "Yes, I am deeply in love with Akane. But that's because she has been so kind to me, while others are always mean. Okay, I look rough around the edges sometimes, and my clothes are torn and tattered a bit—but I travel a lot, that's to be expected, right?

"For the record, you can't have her. She's _my_ fiancé and that's that!"

Ryoga's gaze narrowed. "You can't keep her all to yourself, Ranma. You've been with her for over a year and where has your relationship gone? No where! I'd treat Akane right!"

"And what would you live on, pork-loin? You're a nomad, wandering from place to place without a purpose. The only reason why you keep coming back to Nermia is because you get lost. It's not because the gods guide you. You're hopeless!"

"_Crossdresser!_"

Ranma jumped to his feet, grit his teeth. He got into a readied fighting stance. "You take that back! I swear it! My stomach's fine now, so I can fight you properly. Forget what Kasumi said. No one calls me that! It's a curse. I'm a guy! You hear me!"

Ryoga got to his feet and clenched his fists. "You're the epicentre for everyone's problems, Ranma, and it'll be my pleasure to finally take you down! If it wasn't for you, I would not be cursed!"

"You're already cursed! You have a lousy sense of direction and that curse not my fault! Come to think about it, neither is you falling into _The Spring of Drowned Man!_ You followed me! So, take responsibility for it!"

Ryoga picked up his umbrella and pointed it at Ranma. "Winner gets Akane!"

"Once again, idiot! Akane is my fiancé! Get your own!"

"You don't give a damn about her! You're just a freeloader in the Tendo Home! I'll give Akane the world!"

"Again, with what? You got no job, no money, no residence. You have no idea where you live. Don't you remember, we scheduled a fight in middle school once in the vacant lot next to your house and you got lost!"

"Shut up! I took a wrong turn, that's all. Then I lost my sense of direction and wandered around. You should have waited!"

Ranma signed deeply frustrated. "I did! For countless days! I finally gave up! I even missed three days of school and I was sent to detention. The next day, you were even more angry than you were the day you wanted to fight!"

"You stole my curry bread again!"

"I'll let you in on a little secret, Ryoga. I've just recently started _teaching_ martial arts lessons here in the dojo. I only have a few students, but I managed to convince some kids from school who needed help with their self-confidence. They're not paying anything yet, but being a martial artist isn't about money—it's about self-worth. And honing your skills to the point where fighting can be avoidable and only as a last resort. I've matured. Have _you_?"

Ryoga blinked. "W-when did this happen?"

"You've been gone for a few months. Within that time. I helped my students fight off a large bully and his friends who were picking on them; they're Freshmen. I'm a Second Year now. It's also an Upperclassman's job to help the new kids, to guide them. And with all the pressure at school these days, people need allies."

Ryoga eased his stance. "Um, really? That's pretty cool, Ranma. Congratulations? This is a surprise."

"We all have to _grow-up_ sometime, bacon-slice."

"Will you stop calling me names." Ryoga looked back at Kasumi. She was still hanging laundry. Obviously she was not paying attention to them, humming away. She said she would be watching them as they settled their differences, but not at the moment. "I don't like them," he said, turning back. "And when did you decide to become a teacher?"

"About that time I stopped depending on the Tendo's for everything. Like I said, I don't get paid for my teaching services. But in time, word will spread, and people will join the dojo as paying customers. Like all businesses, it takes time to built cliente. The dojo already has a descent reputation as being a friendly place, but there's no incentives to join."

"Why not just show some skin like you were doing earlier? That'll bring in the paying customers." Ryoga joked. "Truthfully, you should really think about it. The ladies would really like to see your _sinister-looking_ body. And some guys, too." He snickered.

Ranma sneered. "Wait? What? This aint no a peep-show! And I'm no exhibitionist! I've done some soul-searching, Ryoga. How about you? All you do is wander around and train? You've picked up some unique fighting techniques, but you have yet to beat me with any of them. You've come close—really close. But that aint gonna cut it. So, after all this—even if we do fight, I still win! I'm the better man. You gave me a weakling agent, but I'm still stronger than you in the end."

"I'm strong! You're just self-centred!"

Ranma shrugged. "What can I say? I'm confident. And Akane accepts me for who I am, even with my curse. Sure, I want to be _all man_ for her—what self-respected guy wouldn't? I don't like it when my _manhood_ disappears and I develop big boobs. And I hate wearing woman's clothes. Although some of them are pretty soft against my skin," he started to mutter to himself. "I get rashes sometimes and I they do help. Some of those silk patties are very comfortable..." He waved off the thought. "Jez! See, I hate this! This curse is playing havoc with my self-identity, too! Sometimes I wish you and I had reverse curses."

"Trust me, you wouldn't want to turn into a tiny piglet, Akane's pet pig. She has some weird dreams at night and kicks me. She squeezes me until I pass out. When she finally falls asleep, I then go and sleep under her bed. She's a menace in bed."

"I wouldn't know. I've never slept with Akane."

"And thank god for that! Only her husband should sleep with her. And her pet P-Chan." He smirked.

"Over my dead body, pork-butt! Once this curse of mine is completely gone, I'll do the right thing and—"

"I forbid it!"

"Yeah?" Ranma smirked, readying into a defensive stance. Ryoga growled. "So, whatcha goin' do 'bout it?"

Ryoga gripped the handle of his umbrella tighter. "Oh, you'd like that—wouldn't you? I destroy the dojo in a fit of rage and you get Akane to hate me forever. I'm not stupid! I came here to see Akane. I'm done with you now. You can wash your own clothes, too. I won't spread your new nick name, if you don't tell anybody about what I did in giving your that potion. Deal?"

"No dice," Ranma retorted. "Everyone knows I'm afraid of cats, but what you did was beyond disgraceful!"

Ryoga grit his teeth. "Then what the hell do you want?" he demanded. "And I won't kiss your foot!"

"I've decided you don't have to kiss my foot anymore." Ranma turned around and slapped his butt. "You can kiss my ass." He smirked. "You saw it when you came in and you just complemented it a moment ago. Now pucker up."

Ryoga had had enough. He opened his umbrella full, pulled his arm back, and then he tossed his umbrella at Ranma. Ranma ducked, as it swirled through the air. It just missed slicing a banner on the far wall and came back to Ryoga's hand like a boomerang.

Ranma cursed him. Then arched backwards as Ryoga launched a forwards thrust with the umbrella using it like a sword.

Ranma quickly reacted, his body very agile. He wrapped his legs around the umbrella and then twisted it out of Ryoga's hands, pivoting on the hands. Then after a few spins to gain some momentum, he launched the umbrella using centrifugal force like jettisoning a projective back at him.

Ryoga backed off just in the nick of time as it soared passed him inches from his face out of the dojo.

Using the distraction, Ranma flipped to his feet. He then lunged at Ryoga. But Ryoga twirled around, and tripped Ranma, sending him tumbling towards the backyard pond.

Ranma couldn't stop and landed with a huge splash.

Kasumi cried out with a gasp as her clothes suddenly began covered with dirty water.

Ranma clenched his teeth as he resurfaced, taking a breath. "Damn it, Ryoga!" All of sudden, he noticed something bizarre. He was still a guy. He had not reverted to being female, even soaked with the cold water from the pond. He looked at Ryoga. "What in the world? The curse? It didn't change me? What the hell was in that potion you gave me? I'm cured?"

_To be continued..._


	5. Part Five

_**PART FIVE:**_

Ranma stood awestruck in the middle of the pond, his clothes completely drenched. And yet, he was unchanged. The curse that had plagued him for so long had suddenly gone dominant? It was baffling!

He splashed himself down even further, but again, he didn't change into his pseudo-female self.

He checked himself over, even checked below. His manhood was exactly where it should be.

Normally with the curse it transformed, reverted and changed. He had no idea how the parts interchanged during the curse, but this time—nothing happened!

"I-I'm cured?" he stammered again. He looked at Ryoga completely bewildered. "You cured me, Ryoga? How?"

"Ranma…" was all Ryoga could muster, his eyes wide with shock.

"You unlucky idiot," Ranma said with a broad smile. "You had the cure to _the Spring of Drowned Man_ with you the whole time thinking it was a weakening agent to use against me. Way to go, Gosunkugi! For once that imbecile finally did something right for a change playing with his dark magic. Yippee! I'm finally cured!"

Ryoga remained frozen like a statue. His mouth agape bewildered.

"Hey, pork-for-brains," Ranma said, "no need for that apology now. This is all the atonement you need—"

Suddenly, something began to happen. Ranma looked at his hands.

Just then, things began to get—smaller. He was getting smaller. The borrowed clothes from Ryoga began to get baggy despite being soaked and plastered to his body. His muscles got thinner, less defined—reverting to a younger state. He suddenly felt faint as if his blood pressure spiked, causing him some disorientation.

He fell back into the water.

"Ranma!" he heard Ryoga shout.

His rival's voice brought him back and he splashed back up, his head jettisoning out of the water.

But when he did, he noticed something strange. He was smaller now. The clothes he wore were almost falling off him. His reflection was even younger, say about three years. He looked like he did in middle school and about fourteen years old. About the same time his and Ryoga's school rivalry was at an apex.

"Oh no!" Ranma opened his pants and checked his manhood. He screamed. "_It shrunk! I shrunk! What the hell just happened?_"

"Ranma, come out of the pond quickly!" Kasumi said. "Let's have a look at you." Ranma did, literally having to hold onto his pants or they would fall off him. "Oh my! You have shrunk and considerably. Stand next to Ryoga."

Ranma did. And the change in height was remarkable. He stood only to Ryoga's chest now, whereas their height was next to even before.

Ranma looked up at Ryoga. "What the _hell_ was in that potion, Ryoga?" he snarled. Ryoga was at a loss for words.

Ranma went after him, his hands gripping into talons to strangle Ryoga. But Ryoga acted instinctively and used a mere hand to push Ranma back to a safe distance where Ranma could only swing fists at him without making contact. His arms were not long enough to make contact.

"Settle down, Ranma," Kasumi said calmly.

The commotion caused the rest of the household to exit to the backyard. When each of them saw Ranma, everyone looked dumbfound—Soun, Genma, Nabiki, and Akane.

Akane came down to ground level off the porch. She was normally shorter than him, but now she was taller. Ranma's gaze immediately went to her breasts. To him, they looked larger than he remembered—but maybe because he was just smaller now. His face flushed.  
"Ranma, what on earth happened here?"

"Ask Ryoga! He did it! He gave me some weird concoction that caused this to happen. He said he got it from Gosunkugi. That lunatic mixed whatever into it in an attempt to weaken me and then gave it to Ryoga." He didn't want to go into what had happened before, it was too embarrassing. But he did say he had accident and borrowed some of Ryoga's spare clothes in the meantime. The details of exactly what happened were not important. _This was!_

"Y-you're wet…and you're _male_? You didn't change into a girl." Akane looked perplexed.

"Yeah, one _good thing_ about _whatever_ did this to me."

"Is the curse really gone? Or is this just _something else_?"

"Dunno," Ranma replied. "But if my curse was still around, I would've changed by now. Oh god! I hope this isn't permanent? Am I gonna hafta re-live the last _three-something-years_ of my life over again?"

His father suddenly laughed. "Look on the bright side, boy! If you do have to live the last few years of your life over again, but with the curse lifted, isn't that's a good trade off? By the way, any more of that potion, Ryoga? If Gosunkugi's mixture acts like some sort of youthful regenerator, I wouldn't mind being younger again."

Ryoga shook his head. "No more, Mr. Saotome," he said. "Ranma drank it all."

"Selfish boy! Why did you drink it in the first place?"

Ranma averted his eyes. "Because Ryoga tricked me…it was a rotten thing to do!" Then he looked back at Akane. He had actually done it for her. If he was all man, she would…and things would be… "Well, um, sure," he responded to his father. "Of course it is…" Age-wise, he and Akane were now three-and-half years apart and he looked much younger. Nowhere near a suitable match-up for a high school student.

"You want to change back, right, Ranma? Maybe we can go to Gosunkugi to get a cure?" Akane voiced. "But what about school? Your friends? And didn't you just start teaching some students in the dojo? How are you going to manage all that?"

"Hey! I'll think of sumthin'," Ranma said defensively, cupping his hips. "I may have shrunk, but I'm still who I was."

"Are you?" Akane asked.

Just then, gravity dropped his pants to reveal his manhood.

Akane looked away. He immediately grabbed them and brought the pants back up.

When they first met, he was just coming out of the bath after changing back into a guy in arriving at the Tendo Dojo. She had seen him naked and his manhood was bigger then, dangling, and completely exposed. She screamed afterwards, seeing him naked. He had seen her, too. He made fun of her at the time, but after he thought about it—the image of her being naked kept repeating in his mind. And he liked it.

But now he felt embarrassed. When it came to _maturity_, he felt just like he did only minutes ago before this sudden change. He still felt seventeen, but physically—it was another matter.

"What about the engagement?" Nabiki stepped forward. "By the looks of him, could he truly satisfy you on the wedding night?"

"Nabiki!" Akane said shocked.

"He's still marriage material," Soun chimed in. "A little smaller now that before, but he'll grow again."

"Dad!"

Ranma looked away from everyone abashed. He suddenly felt ashamed.

He saw Ryoga looking at him. He looked up, hanging onto the clothes his rival had given him. Ryoga looked sad.

Ranma always had confidence in himself, but not right now. He felt sort of defeated. And he and Ryoga had not even thrown a punch at each other yet.

"So, what's your deal, huh? You got your wish, Ryoga. You weakened me to the point you can beat me up and win. I may still have my techniques, but I doubt they'll be any match for your power now."

"Don't think that way, Ranma. You may be smaller, but you're still strong," Akane rebuked.

Ryoga's eyes began to tear up. "This isn't what I wanted, Ranma," he said sadly. "I want to defeat you, but on equal terms—or it means nothing…"

Ryoga looked to Akane. Winning against Ranma would prove Ryoga was worthy to court her.

But then Ryoga snapped his attention back. "However, a cure is a cure, right? If it cured you, it can cure…others with similar curses, right?"

Ranma knew Ryoga meant himself without actually saying it.

"Like Mousse and Shampoo? That's good thinking, Ryoga," Akane said with a smile.

Ranma rolled his eyes. Akane was dense when it came to certain things.

"If you two go see Gosunkugi and ask him to make up some more," Akane continued, "and maybe he can mix up an antidote? Maybe it can also help Mr. Saotome?"

"But what if this is permanent?" Ranma said. "And it won't grow back hair, if that's an alternative motive?"

Genma rubbed his head. Under his headscarf he was as bald as an egg. "Don't be so selfish, boy. It's worth a try!"

"Stupid Pop!" Ranma muttered.

Ryoga shook his head. "Even after all the trouble I went through to get the potion, weaken you, you still come out on top, Ranma," he said disgruntled. "Why is it even on the brink of defeat, do you always manage to win over me?"

"Because you're too stupid for your own good!" Ranma said. "Let's go!"

_To be continued..._


	6. Part Six

_**PART SIX:**_

Ranma and Ryoga decided to make their way to Gosunkugi's residence alone.

Ryoga said he had been there before because that's where he received the potion to give to Ranma to make him weak. Gosunkugi has taken him there. Ryoga had met Gosunkugi on the street by chance and they got to talking about Ranma and Gosunkugi said that he had been working on something that could help Ryoga which would work to both their mutual advantage. That's how it all started.

It had been a couple of hours since Ranma's sudden change and loss of his Jusenkyo curse and he was feeling self-conscious about his new self-image. Only this morning, he had felt strong and self-assured. Now he had to wear clothes that he thought he had outgrown when he first arrived at the Tendo Dojo. They were baggier on him now being three years younger and even smaller. And it didn't make him feel positive in himself.

When Ranma had looked at himself in the mirror in the dojo just before Ryoga caught him acting vainly, he felt things were finally coming together despite the curse. He was two people, per se, his male and female self were of one mind, but of two difference realities. He had to manage the two in separate ways, but he was starting to get the hang of it.

Along the way, some idiot with a bike hit a puddle and splashed Ryoga. Now, Ranma had to carry all of Ryoga's gear, and it wasn't light. Changing back was too much trouble, so Ryoga stayed as P-Chan.

P-Chan walked next to Ranma on their way to Gosunkugi's home. Ranma had already made the decision that he wanted to return back to normal, so to speak. However, if his new self was permanent, he also had to think about how he would have to live the next three years over again, losing everything he had gained—relationships, friends, his school, his students, and maybe, even Akane. She wouldn't want a kid for a fiancée.

He also thought, if or when the others found out about his new curse, would the others want to follow suit—like Shampoo and Mousse? He thought about the possibilities of marketing the potion for others with Jusenyko curses. But then thought against it. He would focus on his own problems first.

Ranma adjusted Ryoga's gear over his shoulder, but then fell back when the weight threw him off balance.

"Ow!" Ranma grumbled when he hit the ground. P-Chan looked at him. They had been walking for over an hour without getting to their destination. Ranma sat up. "Hey idiot! You do know where we're going, right? You did say you've been to Gosunkugi's place before, huh?"

P-Chan cocked his head and looked around. He looked right, left, back and front, then whined. He was lost.

"Dammit, Ryoga! You seriously don't remember? You good for nothing…I'm going to cook you up for a pork cutlet bowl! I wondered why this area kept looking familiar. You've been taking us around in circles, haven't you?"

Just then, Ranma heard the _ding-ding_ of a bicycle bell and his eyes went wide. In the distance and coming closer was Shampoo on a food delivery. She had a carrying box strapped to the back shelf of her bike. For a moment, Ranma's face flushed. He didn't know why, but the minute he saw her, his eyes went directly to her breasts. They looked much bigger than he remembered. Or, maybe it was because he was just smaller.

"Ryoga, quick! I don't want Shampoo to see me like this. Let's…go in here!"

Ranma saw they had stopped near an eatery. He grabbed P-Chan by his bandana and yanking him inside with his gear. He didn't read the name of the place, but it didn't matter. As long as they escaped Shampoo's eyes, he could explain to the owner later why they were there.

Suddenly, Ranma realized where he was. He should have read the banner before coming in. Normally, the banner would have been visible to him above the door, he normally had to push part of it aside to enter. But because he was smaller, it never occurred to him.

He panicked.

"Oh no!" He turned back, and suddenly bumped into Shampoo entering the Cat Cafe. "Oh crap!" he then said, but his voice became muffled after he did a face plant into Shampoo's buxom breasts. They smothered him like two soft pillows and he felt his face turn beet red. He staggered back. "S-S-Shamppo!"

Shampoo looked down at him. She blinked bewildered. But she knew it was him because he had a distinct look with his long pony-tail. "Ranma? Is that you? Why you so small now? You kid-size!"

Having her say that felt like he had just been punched in the stomach. _Kid-size_.

Cologne, Shampoo's great-grandmother, suddenly came hopping out of the back kitchen on her walking stick. Perhaps to greet Shampoo, or to prepare her for another order. But when the 'old-hag', as Ranma liked to call her, came out, she looked equally bewildered by his new appearance. "Ranma? Is that you? What happened?"

"I can explain everything," he said.

x x x

After Ryoga was able to change back and get dressed, Ranma asked for something to eat as he relayed his story to Cologne and Shampoo. He slurped a bowl of wanton soup as he told them everything from the _very_ beginning.

The potion was a curse in its own rite. Shampoo didn't want to try it, so Ranma knew it was best for him to get an antidote. Shampoo was fine in changing into a cat. He didn't like cats, but if she could accept herself with her curse, then so could he with his own. He had to find a way to change back and as soon as possible.

"Oh Ranma—Shampoo still love you. You still future husband. But Ryoga is bad boy for hurting you. Bad boy!"

Ryoga looked away abashed.

Then said, "But this settles it! If Shampoo still wants you, Akane will be mine." He smiled. "So, it all works out! Besides, you saw how Akane looked at you, Ranma. You're now too young for her to marry."

Ranma slammed his fists on the table. "No!" He cleared his throat. He didn't mean to be so passionately defensive. "I mean, that's not the point. I may look younger now, but I'm still her fiancee! And that's that!"

"You still want Akane? Even though you smaller now?" Shampoo expressed disappointment. "Shampoo don't care if Ranma smaller. Ranma is all man and big enough for Shampoo. I think Ranma is very cute boy, yes."

Boy? Ranma shook his head. It was a second mention of his young age. "I'm a not a boy! I'm a—"

Then he looked into the stalk of what was left of his wanton soup and saw his younger self. He did look like a boy, a boy of fourteen. While his curse was gone, and he would probably grow up normally without it, he felt like he was only one-half himself. That an important piece of himself was missing. And he couldn't believe it wanted it back!

_Akane will never want me like this. But this is what I wanted since I fell into the Spring of Drowned Man. Gosunkugi's potion worked. Whatever dark magic he used, it broke the ancient, unredeemable curse. He shook his head. No, this isn't what I wanted at all. It stole so much away from me!_

_I wanted to be normal again, but not at the expense of everything I've achieved so far since coming here to stay with…I'm going to lose Akane. She didn't mind my curse. Then there's all my friends…and my students. How can I let those kids down for my selfish dream? There's gotta be another way?_

Cologne mused. "So, your strange friend with the dark circles around his eyes fiddled around with dark magic to make this potion?"

Cologne asked, getting clarification. Ranma nodded. "It would appear he did weaken you, but not to the extent you may think, Ranma. There's more than one way to skin a cat, no disrespect, Shampoo."

"None taken, Great Grandmother; Shampoo know what you talkin' about. Ranma is weakened mentally."

Ranma nodded. _Yes, that's what I was missing—how to explain how I was feeling. I feel depressed by all this. Weakened in spirit. So, in truth, Ryoga did give me a weakening agent._

"I wouldn't call Gosunkugi a friend," Ranma corrected, "more like an annoying little pest at school who never stops at trying to create havoc for me or ruin my life generally. He used Ryoga to get to me. I called Ryoga a coward for doing such a thing in using Gosunkugi's 'weakening agent'. Now I know Ryoga was nothing but a pawn."

Ryoga punched a fist into a hand. "If I had Gosunkugi here right now, I'd use my _Hisho Koryu Ha_ on him and send him half-way across the city!"

"He used you, Ryoga, because you're so gullible," Ranma said, almost kindly. "You accused me of being gullible when I drank the potion, when, in fact, you were the fool."

"Who is the greater fool? The fool or the fool who follows him?" Cologne said pointedly.

"I get the point," Ryoga said, then huffed. "I was tricked. And I'm sorry, Ranma. I was wrong."

"You still want to change back, Ranma?" Shampoo asked curiously, but with a certain sadness. "If I cured, would you like me without changing into cat?"

Cologne mused. "If you swallowed Gosunkugi's potion, Shampoo, you would loose your curse, but also get a lot younger. However, that fool Mousse would still want you, and would want to take the cure, too, to rival Ranma. That would create a whole mess of problems with running the Cat Cafe. I might not be able to keep the cafe open."

"What if there is no cure to this _new_ curse?" Ranma wondered, settling his chin on folded arms on the table. He sighed. "If there isn't, could I still get back what I lost?"

"In time, Ranma," Cologne said. "But in the meantime, the world will move ahead without you. You have been given a second chance, but look what it's costing you? As they said, the cure is often worse than the disease."

Ranma stared into his soup. The engagement with Akane was basically the anchor that brought them together and he knew Akane disliked it. So did he, at first. But it was tradition, and it had been settled long before he knew what being engaged met. But he didn't mind it now. He was comfortable with Akane.

In that respect, he was also engaged to Ukyo. Then again, like this—as a boy—would Ukyo cast him aside for being too young? He would probably lose her, too.

He would rather have the curse he had than this new reality. Otherwise, he would be shunned, much like if he had a disease. And no one would want to be with him.

_This isn't me, the other me is me. I want that back! I want everything back!_

He decided firmly. He wanted to be normal again, even if that meant having to worry about changing into a girl when being splashed with cold water.

He turned to Cologne. "Can you help me change back? Use some of your old-hag, voodoo, whatchamacallit, to counter-act this dark magic curse?"

Cologne cocked her head, gripping her walking stick. "Are you sure, Ranma? This is what you've continuously strived for. Every time you think you can break the curse, you've jumped at the chance—only for the solution to slip through your fingers. Now that you have and want to reverse it?"

Ranma nodded. "Yes," he sat up tall, proud, and confident. "I want to be _me_, the _whole me_—I'm missing part of _me_, my _other half_, and want it back—my full identity restored no matter the cost. Do what you can, okay?"

"Sure," Cologne said. "I'll work on it, and come up with a solution by tomorrow."

Ryoga patted Ranma on the shoulder and smiled. "You win, Ranma…again," he said. "And for once, I couldn't be happier to have lost to you. You are truly a better and stronger person than me."

"Still doesn't make what you did any less stupid," Ranma retorted.

_To be continued..._


	7. Part Seven

**_PART SEVEN:_**

The next morning, Ranma woke up feeling stiff and constricted. It felt like something was crushing his torso and his mid-region. When he opened his eyes and saw what it was. It was the clothes he had on when he went to bed. They were so tight on him that he could barely breath.

He couldn't believe it, but he was back to normal—back to his regular self, somehow? His father wasn't in the room with him to share this joyous moment, he was obviously at work at Dr. Tofu's as his helper this time of the morning. But he just had to shout out and celebrate.

"Yippee!" he cried out. "I'm back baby!"

The c seeurse had been broken over night like a bout of fever. He didn't know how or why. It almost felt like he had experienced a nightmare, or to really stretch things like he had been taught a lesson.

He struggled, even grunted to get off the tight clothes.

The commotion caused someone to come see what all the noise was about and it was Ryoga who pushed back the door to Ranma's room. He had stayed over. Once again, Ranma mooned his rival, trying to get his underwear off. It was so tight, it was crushing is manhood. But the moment it was off, Ranma breathed out a sigh of relief.

Ryoga gasped. "Ranma…y-you're back to normal? But how?"

"Dunno," Ranma said, uncaring that he was half-naked in front of his rival. They were guys, what did he care? "Help me get these kiddie clothes off, will ya? I can't breath!"

Ryoga took hold of the sleeves of Ranma's tight white shirt and pulled as Ranma backed away. Standing naked, he looked himself over, flexed and admired himself. Indeed, all of him was back to normal. Muscles, manhood, in all.

"Okay, what the heck was in that potion? It wore off!"

"Maybe it wasn't as potent as Gosunkugi thought?"

"Just like that special soap Shampoo got that a temporarily prevented the Jusenyko curse from enacting. Science may be able to explain a lot to things, but it aint no cure for ancient curses. Thank god in this case!"

Akane suddenly showed up, coming to see what all the commotion was about, and gasped.

Ranma stood buff-naked and exposed. She saw all of him, before he managed to fold over and cover himself with his hands. "It's not what you think, Akane—_honest!_"

Akane seemed less concerned with Ranma's nakedness than his return to form. "Ranma? Y-you're…back?" Whether is was by accident or in personal relief, she smiled.

"I'm cured, Akane," he said with a blushing smile, grabbing the shirt from Ryoga. It was enough to cover himself with. "I'm back to being _all of me_! All beautiful one-hundred percent me!"

"And as arrogant as ever, I see. Put some clothes."

"Yes, Ranma," Ryoga suddenly got defensive. "How dare you be naked in front of Akane!"

Ranma stuttered in disbelief. "H-_hey_! You're the one that helped—oh, forget it! Remember this is all your fault! If you didn't get that potion from Gosunkugi in the first place, for whom he never did see—maybe it was a good thing or I would've sent him into next week, you never could find him house—none of this would have happened."

"Don't blame, Ryoga. You're the one that gulped the potion down," Akane said irked. "This is just as much your fault as it is originally his, more so, Ranma. To be honest, you're just fine he way you are. I don't mind you changing into a girl. The curse has been yours ever since I met you. I would never be able to think of you without it. So, own it. I like you just the way you are."

_She likes me just the way I am?_ Ranma broke into a smile. They were the best words he had ever heard in his life. He never thought she would like him unless he was all-man. But now…

Ryoga frowned. "Well, let's test it," he said, a little annoyed. Obviously he didn't like it when Akane said that. "Let's see if the curse is back? Only one way to find out."

Ryoga grabbed him.

Ranma protested as he was dragged through he house, exiting onto the back porch. He tried to resist Ryoga, but he mostly concentrated on covering himself as Ryoga hauled him unwittingly to their destination. Taking him, Ryoga then threw him over his shoulder and into the pond. He cried out as he flew and splash-landed into the water.

Ranma broke through the surface of the water like he was being re-born. He took a deep breath. "Hey! Whatcha do that for?" he demanded.

Then he looked down and saw what he had been missing for the last twenty-four hours—and strangely enough, he was glad to see two buxom breasts under his chin. "Yes! They're back! The curse is broken—_kinda_. The _other_ curse, that is." He cupped his breasts and fondled them in his hands. "I've never been so happy to see this puppies!"

"S-Stop that!" Akane shouted. "You pervert! Stop touching yourself!"

"How dare you do such a despicable and vile thing in front of Akane," Ryoga chided.

Ranma smiled. He was so glad he was back to normal, per se.

And he decided, at that moment, that he would never take for granted what he had _ever_ again. A lesson well learned.

One day, he would be rid of the curse. In the meantime, he would accept what life had to offer him—cursed, if need be—for the rest of his life.

And for anyone, that was what living was really about—turning a weakness into strength and striving forward.

He saw Akane smiling back at him.

"I'm cured," Ranma said, and smiled back.

* * *

In the basement of his house, Gosunkugi dabbled with another experimental potion in a makeshift lab.

For days now, he had yet to see the guy..._whatshisname_...the guy with a lousy sense of direction who often came to town and made trouble for Ranma. What was the result of his potion? Did it make Ranma weak?

He was more or less curious, but he now realized it didn't really matter. Would Akane Tendo still like Ranma even if he was as weak as a baby? They were engaged to be married regardless of the result of this test.

He turned down a bunsun burner that boiled a bluish liquid in a beaker and then removed it, pouring it into a greenish liquid in a glass breaker, and mixed it with a glass stirring stick; the breaker contained a variety of other powders and liquids.

He had toiled over this concoction for a week now, apart from other things, and it was to be his most absolutely best creation. Since he hadn't learned the result of the "Weakening Agent" for Ranma, it was time to take things to the new level and into his own hands, and destroy Ranma Saotome by himself, and in front of Akane Tendo; embarrass him for all to see!

He smiled gleefully. This new creation would enhance his strength and swiftness, so he could stop all of Ranma's attacks. _Brutal strength_, _bah_! He scoffed. _It takes intelligent to outwit your enemy!_

He sniffed it. The colours turned from blue, to green, to red, and finally back to blue. He knew his chemistry and he was smarter than any student at school. He was always picked on for how dorky he acted and how weird he looked, but no longer. It was time to show people his true power!

He sipped the edge of the breaker, it tasted a little bitter. But he forced it down and then emptied it. He drank it all. At first he didn't feel anything...

Then he felt it, the surging, the raw power, and...

His stomach began to gruggle, churn and twist, and all of a sudden, his eyes went wide when he felt it, and he immediately turned run over of his makeshift lab, and to the nearest bathroom, holding his rear, trying to hold it in.

He didn't make it. And for the next hour, he felt a true "Weakening Agent", as it was turning his insides out. He couldn't do anything but use the toilet. Indeed, his potion had done its job, and most likely it had a similar result for Saotome, but in a slightly different way, but it was not with the intention he wanted.

And once Ranma learned where Ryoga Hibiki--_Yes, that's his name_\--obtained it, he would no doubt be targeted for revenge by Saotome.

"Damn you, Saotome!" he scorned. "This is all your fault..._Ohhhhhhhhhh_!"

But maybe, this was payback enough?

_Not likely,_ he thought.

END


End file.
